Strapless bra



Nov. 15, 1955 P. BLATT STRAPLESS BRA Filed Aug. 24, 1953- INVENTOR. P4004 54.427

Arron/vans United States Patent STRAPLESS BRA Paula Blatt, Cleveland, Ohio Application August 24, 1953, Serial No. 375,971

4 2 Claims. C1. 242

This invention relates to the art of womens Wearing apparel and, more specifically, is for an'improved form of bust band or bra.

I am of course well aware that there have been devised many forms of bras with straps over the shoulders of the wearer and with wiring or stays built into the cups of the bra, the purpose in each instances being to afford an uplift for the breasts of the wearer so as to maintain the same in proper position from the standpoints of physical health and personal appearance. However, the use of shoulder straps and wiring or stays is considered to be objectionable as they are uncomfortable. Also, shoulder straps are unsightly when worn under garments of sheer material or with garments of offshoulder styles.

There have also been devised artificial breasts supported entirely by means of bands about the body of the wearer and without any shoulder straps; but, under such circumstances, there is of course no occasion for any uplifting action.

The object of my present invention is to devise a bra that may be worn without any shoulder straps and without any wiring or stays and yet is capable of affording a positive support for the breasts of the wearer by means of a built-in uplift that is capable of providing complete satisfaction from the standpoints of physical condition and personal appearance.

A further object of my present invention is to devise such a strapless bra in which the cups are capable of individual adjustment with respect to each other so as to be capable of accommodation to the breasts of the particular wearer in the most comfortable and efficient manner, and also so that such adjustment may serve as a means for holding the bra in proper position upon the body of the wearer.

Other objects will appear from the following description and claims when considered together with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my present device;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, with the tapes broken away;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof, with the tapes broken away.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing in detail, the cone-shaped cups 1 and 2 may be padded or unpadded and there will be less padding according to the degree of development of the breasts in any given case. These cups may be made of any suitable material, as for instance sponge rubber that is covered with a desirable fabric and provided with an edge trimming according to choice. These two cups are formed separately and have no connection with each other except as will be now explained.

Each of the cups 1 and 2 has attached to its inner edge at the points 3 and 4, respectively, a longitudinally elastic tape which in each instance extends in a substantially taut manner, as indicated at 5 and 6, respectively, across the rear of its cup and is attached to the outer 2,723,395 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 margin of the same at the points 7 and 8, respectively, from which point each tape continues in the form of a loop indicated at 9 and 10, respectively, and has its end attached to the outer margin of its cup, as indicated at 11 and 12, respectively. The adjacent portions of these tapes in the region of the inner margins of the cups extend through a single closed ring 13 which occupies position in a vertical plane in the region of the dividing line between the breasts of the wearer so as to afford a substantially universal adjustment between the same and the tapes as may be necessary for the most comfortable and efiicient positioning of the cups over the breasts of the wearer in any given case. One of the loop portions 9 extends through the eye 14 of a Well-known form of fastener and the hook part 15 may engage one of the sewed eyes 10a for detachably holding these loop portions about the body of the wearer, suitable adjustment being permitted by the sewed eyes 10a. As will be observed, the loop portions 9 and 10 and the hook are the only means for supporting the present bra in position upon the body of the wearer, and this is the only function of the bands 9 and 18 as l have provided another means for affording an uplift to the breasts. This purpose is served by the substantially taut elastic tape portions 5 and 6, each of which is adapted to be engaged beneath its corresponding breast with the individual elasticity of each of the uplifting portions. As this device is placed in position, it may be necessary to exert a lateral pull of the tapes upon the ring 13 accordingto the spacing of the breasts from each other'in any given case and there will be a corresponding increase in the tautness of the portions 5 and 6; and this fact may be taken into account in designing this bra for different sizes. The tape of the taut portions 5 and 6 will be sufliciently wide to provide effective uplift and comfort; and the tape Wil be selected with the proper degree of elasticity for the purpose herein stated.

The points of attachment 7 and 8 may be slightly below the points that are diametrically opposite to the points 3 and 4 so as to facilitate the uplifting engagement of the tapes below the breasts; and, at the same time, the points 11 and 12 may be slightly above the points that are diametrically opposite the points 3 and 4, thereby obtaining a well balanced arrangement for the support of the bra upon the body of the wearer. That is, the points of attachment 3 and 4 may be substantially midway between the points 7-11 and 8-12, respectively. Moreover, it is to be understood that, even so, the universal connection afforded by the ring 13 will permit upward individual adjustment or positioning of each cup with respect to the other so as to thereby in effect cause the taut portions 5 and 6 in each instance to extend in a path entirely below the diameter of the breast and thus obtain the most eifective uplifting action of the same upon the individual breasts of the wearer. To explain in another manner, the ring 13 will permit each individual taut portion 5 and 6 to have its inner end portion pulled through the same so as to lower the portions 5 and 6 in these regions to the extent desired for the most effective uplifting action upon each individual breast of the wearer.

The cups 1 and 2 may or may not engage the breasts of the wearer and in either case the automatic adjustment of the tapes through the ring 13 will serve to maintain the bra in proper position upon the body of the wearer and prevent the same from slipping down, as might otherwise occur; so that even in a case of under-developed breasts, the action of the tapes through the ring 13 will serve as a means of holding the bra in proper position.

While the cups 1 and 2, in the present form of device, can not be depended upon alone to support the breasts in the desired manner, these cups will however serve as an anchoring means for the elastic tapes and 6 which will afford the desired up-lift for the breasts of the wearer. It might be explained that the position of the tapes 5 and 6 may be varied; they might extend exactly across the diameters of the cups 1 and 2 or slightly below the diameter in each instance. In all events, these tapes 5 and 6 serve to supplement the cones or cups 1 and 2 so as to provide a unitary combination that is well adapted to contribute to physical condition and personal appearance of the wearer.

Thus it will be seen that I have devised a bra that has a built-in uplift, that is entirely free of shoulder straps, that is also devoid of wiring or other stays, and yet is capable of providing in a most efficient manner a desired uplift for the breasts of the wearer for the sake of improved physical condition and personal appearance. Also, my present device is capable of substantially universal adjustment for the two-fold purpose above noted; and this device can be made and sold at a popular price.

It is to be understood that the present form of disclosure is merely for the purpose of illustration and that there might be devised various modifications thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as herein set forth and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A strapless bra comprising a pair of cups adapted to be positioned over the breasts of the human body, means connected to said cups and adapted to extend about the body of the wearer and having means of detachable connection at the rear of the wearers body so as to hold said cups in position, each of said cups having a longitudinally elastic tape anchored to the outer edge thereof and extending across the middle part of the cup, in each instance, and attached to the inner edge thereof, and a ring disposed in a vertical plane between said cups and having the adjacent inner end portions of said tapes extending therethrough and constituting the only means of connection between said cups so as to afford a universal adjustable connection.

2. A strapless bra comprising a pair of cups adapted to be positioned over the breasts of a human body, each of said cups having a single continuous longitudinally elastic tape anchored at one end to the inner margin thereof and extending in a substantially taut manner laterally across the cup in each instance to a point at the outer margin thereof where it is anchored and thence is formed into a loop and anchored at its end to the outer marginal edge of the cup in each instance, means for detachably connecting said loop portions together at the back of the wearer so as to hold the cups in position, and a ring extending in a vertical plane between said cups and having the inner end portions of said elastic tapes extended therethrough and constituting the only means of connection between said cups so as to afford a universal connection between said cups.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,468,622 Glick Apr. 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 443,858 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1936 642,764 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1950 

